(NASHVILLE) - A Brown County man has been sentenced to 15 years in prison on federal weapons charges.

43-year-old Michael Brock, of Gatesville Road, was charged with possession of a firearm, a violation of federal law. As a convicted felon, it was illegal for him to possess firearms. Brock was sentenced Monday.

Because Brock had prior convictions for violent crimes - including weapons charges - he qualified for a sentence enhancement as an armed career criminal, said Joseph Hogsett, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Indiana.

That designation imposes a mandatory 15-year minimum sentence.

Brock is expected to serve at least 85 percent of that sentence in a yet-to-be-determined federal prison, plus three years' supervised probation after his release.

Federal agents from the Indianapolis Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives arrested Brock Dec. 18, 2009, in the driveway of his Brown County home.
According to a probable cause affidavit by Special Agent Daniel W. Shirley, a family member alerted law enforcement that Brock had at least three firearms in his home.

Brock had been convicted in April 1998 of conspiracy, possession of machine guns and dealing in explosive materials without a license, and had been sentenced to 108 months in prison, a $2,000 fine and three years' supervised release. He was released from prison Dec. 6, 2005 and his probation expired in December 2008.

On Dec. 18, 2009, federal agents executing a search warrant saw Brock and his wife leaving their home in a pickup truck, the affidavit states. When Brock recognized the vehicles as law enforcement, he began to drive erratically and would not yield, speeding in excess of 100 miles per hour.

The chase lasted about 15 minutes and ended back at Brock's driveway, where he was arrested, according to Shirley report.

Agents found a 12-gauge shotgun and a Ruger .22-caliber rifle wrapped in a blanket in a Jaguar parked at the home. They found a .38-caliber revolver in a linen closet.
According to Hogsett, ammunition, a ballistic helmet and vest, and four modified trigger assemblies for SKS-type 7.62 x 39 mm weapons also were found.

Three of the four trigger assemblies had been modified to allow fully automatic fire, Hogsett reported.